Ten years later, Rock Against Cancer performers reunite for reunion show

Saturday

Jun 21, 2014 at 10:00 PMJun 23, 2014 at 9:34 AM

Organizer Kim Gillette planned the first concert at the PAL hall at age 13.

Ten years ago, Kim Gillette and a group of musicians raised money to help fight cancer with annual concerts. At the time, she was 13. She had never organized a concert before, but she knew she wanted to do something to help fight the disease that affects so many families. And despite the odds of attempting an event of that magnitude, the annual Rock Against Cancer concerts at the Police Athletic League were a hit, raising thousands of dollars every year for about five years.

And now, Gillette and many of the performers are again pitching in to raise funds to fight cancer with the Rock Against Cancer 10-Year Reunion concert. The idea started a couple weeks ago and already bands that haven’t played together in more than five years are reuniting — and rehearsing — and new bands are signing on for the concert slated for the PAL hall in Fall River on Aug. 16. People have also donated their time and talents through bake sales to help raise funds for the hall rental and other expenses. The proceeds from this concert will be donated to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

When she was a student at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, the money that she and her friends from Diman raised at the concerts was donated to Diman teacher Maria Torres’ Relay for Life team. At the time, concerts at the PAL hall were a popular attraction every weekend and a regular stop for bands touring the country. Gillette said she, and many of her peers, grew up going to the all-ages concerts, so it was only natural she’d think of holding a concert there to raise money for the Relay for Life team.

“It was a safe haven for a lot of people and we made so many friends going to those shows,” recalled Gillette.

Bands such as Fight Back, Live to See Tomorrow, MAX FX, United Against and Pung Po all donated their time to the Rock Against Cancer concerts. “There was an overflow of people who wanted to perform,” recalled Gillette, adding, “One band, Negative Utopia, came from Tewksbury to perform for free, and Clockwork Bully traveled all way from Virginia to perform free.”

The first year she and Diman student John Carvalho organized the concert, held during February school vacation, and it was a hit. People brought food and baked goods to sell, and others stood outside in the cold “shaking cans” for donations from the line waiting to get into the concert. “It was humbling to see that this many people came out for it,” said Gillette.

The second year, with the Boston punk band Lost City Angels headlining, they raised even more money. It was about $6,000 that year and the following few successive years. The concerts stopped when the group of teens graduated from Diman and went their separate ways.

Gillette and the performers also hope the reunion concert will inspire today’s teens. “We want to show the new generation in Fall River (that) you can have fun, be safe and do good for others without drugs and violence,” said Gillette. “We would like to bring that sense of community back into the city.”

The bands that will perform at the reunion concert include The Wet, Hot Fuzzies, The Wolf Hongos, Wonder Junkie, Dead Skies, Live to See Tomorrow and D-Day/Fight Back and Alexandra Cote.

Tickets for the concert cost $10 and will be sold at the door at the Police Athletic League of Fall River hall, 31 Franklin St. The concert will be held Saturday, Aug. 16, from 3:45 to 10 p.m. Gillette said 100 percent of the proceeds from the show will be donated to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, but Gillette and the organizers of the reunion concert also need to raise funds in advance of the show to help defray expenses such as rental of the hall. Anyone interested in making a donation, separate from the ticket purchase, can email Gillette at kgillette6472@gmail.com.